7/4/2018 – It's Independence Day in the United States, and therefore a day for cookouts, celebrating and fireworks. Or, why not take in a film? In this case, you only need spare 13 minutes to learn all about the 2016 Olympiad triumph of Team USA. Starring Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, Wesley So, Sam Shankland and Ray Robson, with John Donaldson (as "captain") and Aleksandr Lenderman (as "coach"). Produced by the World Chess Hall of Fame.

9/19/2016 – Among the many brilliant performances turned in at the Baku Olympiad was Vladimir Kramnik's gold medal performance on board two, and taking him to 2817 Elo and world no.2. While everyone appreciates his brilliance, understanding the games and moves of such a deep player often requires the help of a grandmaster who can shed light on seemingly baffling choices. Providing just that is GM Elshan Moradiabadi who shares his insights in this wonderful class on strategy.

9/17/2016 – An event such as the Baku Olympiad will generate enormous interest, great games, and historic moments, but have you ever wondered what it was like from an insider's point of view. We don't mean from the perspective of an on-site reporter, but rather one who had to make the tough decisions each and every day: the captain! What follows is an article by Manuel Weeks, the captain of the Australian team, as he dealt with the decisions and worries that might decide his team's fate. A fascinating account with games and quizzes.

9/15/2016 – Before the Olympiad in Baku began on 1st September, ChessBase invited its readers to answer three questions to predict which team would win the open, which team would win the Women's Section and who would win gold for the best result on board one in the Open. Hundreds of readers replied but no one had the right answer to all three questions. As so often, it was Baadur Jobava who surprised everyone.

9/14/2016 – In the final video report on the Baku Olympiad, Daniel King brings images and comments on the eleventh round. He talks about the big matches with the historic US victory, including the surprising tiebreak conundrums, which turned into a vertiable cliff-hanger, and a small chat with Ukraine's top board Pavel Eljanov. He discusses China's first Gold with Hou Yifan, and other tidbits from Azerbaijan. Plus additional on the spot interviews.

9/14/2016 – The win by the US at 2016 Baku, in the largest field ever, can only be described as historic. Ukraine held on to their pace and took silver, while Russia took bronze. Board one gold medal went to Baadur Jobava, and take note of board three bronze medal by 64-year-old Eugenio Torre! The Women's event saw China overcome Russia in an epic match, the first team gold for Hou Yifan, and denying Russia any medal. Poland took silver for their greatest result in Olympiads ever, while Ukraine took bronze. Huge report with videos and GM analysis.

9/13/2016 – There is a reason why Daniel King is one of the most popular chess commentators in the world. If you want to know why, just have a look at his video report of round ten in Baku. It was a crucial round in which the teams tried to position themselves for the last and decisive round. Daniel King shows the highlights of round ten and once again manages to catch the Olympic flair in Baku.

9/13/2016 – The penultimate round saw few changes if any in the leaderboards. The USA played Georgia and won, with the only hiccup being Nakamura's loss to Mchedlishvili. Ukraine also defeated the Czech, while their Volokitin soars at a 2994 performance. Russia only drew India, though they still remain clear third. Remarkably, Canada is in 4th place on tiebreak. The Women's saw China barely overcome Poland, while Ukraine drew India. Russia won against Georgia and will face China for the gold. Large illustrated report with videos and GM analysis.

9/12/2016 – In round nine of the Olympiad the US team won 3-1 against Norway. An important and fine game was Sam Shankland's crushing win on the black side of the Najdorf against Frode Urkedal. After the round Shankland visited the ChessBase stall in Baku and in a video session with Daniel King explained some of the finer points of the game and showed attacking and defensive ideas in the Najdorf.

9/12/2016 – Once more it was a great round, chock full of exciting matches and dramatic games. The US against Norway match held the spotlight, if only because of the top-board encounter between Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana, though the Americans won 3-1. The Ukraine defeated India to join the lead, while Russia thumped Azerbaijan. The surprise of the day was Iran's youthful team tied with England. In the Women's event, the Chinese beat the US to take sole lead. Full report with photos, videos, and analysis by GM Fabiano Caruana!

9/11/2016 – In the swarm of games and players at the Baku Olympiad, the Georgian player Baadur Jobava has stood out by now as an outright favorite for the Board One gold medal. His performance has been one of superlatives to say the least, combining technical play and imaginative attacking. In round eight he defeated the extremely solid and experienced Ruslan Ponomariov from Ukraine in a astonishing 21 moves. This was not the result of a blundered piece or rook, it was the result of a lightning sacrificial attack.

9/11/2016 – They were without a doubt the matches on everyone's mind. In both the Open and the Women's events, Russia faced the USA, and the promise of thrilling top-notch fights did not disappoint. In the Open section, the USA came within a whisker of defeating the top-rated Russian team, with a key win by Welsey So over Nepomniachtchi, balanced by a tragic last-minute blunder by Ray Robson against Grischuk. As to the Women, the Americans beat Russia after a big win by Krush over Kosteniuk. Full report with analysis by GM Wesley So and more!

9/10/2016 – The action at the Baku Olympiad has been intense, and there have been more games than is possible to cover, share, or analyze. GM Daniel King, author of the incredibly popular PowerPlay series, casts his professional eye on a few games of rounds six and seven. In round six he focuses on the Women's match between RUssia and Ukraine, with some of the strongest players giving it their all. In round seven, he has arrived in Baku and starts with some initial impressions and analyzes in depth the wild game Li Chao vs Nigel Short.

9/10/2016 – What an astonishing round it was! It literally saw all the previous leaders suffer setbacks. The biggest headline was without question the crushing victory of Team USA over India by 3.5-0.5. But this was not the only eye-opener. Previous co-leaders Netherlands lost badly to Latvia 3-1 and China, ranked third, lost 3-1 to England. Russia's 3.5-0.5 win over the Czechs sets up a double-date with the USA. In the Women's event, Russia was held to a draw by Poland, while China beat Ukraine. Full report, results and GM analysis.

9/9/2016 – With the field at the top winnowed down to a handful the matches of the day were of paramount importance. The big match between Holland and India was epic: The Dutch started strong on all boards, but the Indians rallied and emerged victorious. The Ukrainians, who had shared the lead, faced Team USA, and it was Caruana's victory over Eljanov that decided their fate. The Women's event was no less dramatic as the Ukrainians squandered a sure win to draw with Russia, while China was held to a draw by Romania. Here is the report with instructive notes by GM Elshan Moradiabadi.

9/8/2016 – After five gruelling rounds at the Olympiad 2016 comes the rest day. And the Indian team used it to be together and having a nice time. AICF President Venketrama Raja took the teams out for a lunch. We have some very candid and interesting pictures and also videos showcasing the physical strength of the Indian players! We have videos of their feats, and there is also a chance for you to win the latest Master Class Vol.07: Kasparov DVD as a prize!

9/7/2016 – Maybe on day six of the Olympiad the players have firmly settled in and feel more and more inspired by the Olympic spirit, or they decided to try particularly hard before the free day after round five, or they were looking forward to the legendary Bermuda Party that invited players on Tuesday evening - but whatever the reason, round five in Baku brought many brilliancies. Daniel King presents three of them.

9/7/2016 – The fifth round shows the Olympiad in Baku now in full swing, and lopsided pairings are now mostly a thing of the past. In the Open section, Ukraine continued their fantastic run, and after their great win over Russia, they now beat the Chinese, and remain unbeaten. Joining them is the Netherlands, who won against Belarus, followed by India who soundly defeated the Azeri team. In the Women’s section, only Russia and Ukraine remain unblemished. Still, what really stood out was the inordinate number of spectacular games, analyzed for your pleasure.

9/5/2016 – Round four was the first true clash of the titans, as Russia squared off against Ukraine. The match was more than just a sports confrontation as the two nations have been bumping heads in no uncertain terms these last years. After an opening loss, Ukraine rallied back and took it 2.5-1.5 in a spectacular comeback. No less impressive was Hou Yifan getting trampled over-the-board by Dana Reizniece-Ozola, Latvia’s Minister of Finance! Here is the report with photos, videos, and GM commentary.

9/5/2016 – In the third round of the Baku Olympiad 2016, Evgeny Tomashevsky was playing Iordachescu. In their game, the Russian had a dominating knight on d4 against his opponent's sick-looking bishop on e6, yet he captured the bishop with his knight in what seemed to be a positively paradoxical move. Had he blundered? Or was there a hidden reason behind this choice? The answer lies in a classic game played exactly 31 years ago by Anatoly Karpov!

9/5/2016 – 180 teams take part in the Open Section of the 42nd Chess Olympiad in Baku, 140 in the Women Section, and every round brings a wealth of interesting games. After each round Daniel King selects highlights of the round and analyses them. His highlight of round three is the game Andrey Volokitin vs Daniel Fridman, a short, dramatic encounter with an entertaining king hunt.

9/4/2016 – After three rounds, there are still 16 teams in the Open section still with perfect scores, and 13 in the Women's section. If this seems a lite, it bears remembering how many teams there are in the overall event. There were few surprise results in the Open section as far as matches go, at least on paper, but the games had promised something else in some cases. The real surprise of the day (aside from Nakmaura's brush with defeat) was China's draw against Vietnam in the Women's section in spite of a dominant Hou Yifan Report, photos, and GM analysis.

9/4/2016 – For the top teams the Chess Olympiad is a serious affair. They battle for points, prestige and medals. But the Olympiad is also a festival to celebrate the joys of chess and this is what Jamaica does. With a rating average of 2166 the Jamaican team are are ranked 115 of 180 teams but that does not diminish their joy of being in Baku. Ian Wilkinson, President of the Jamaica Chess Federation, sends an enthusiastic report about the start of the Olympiad.

9/3/2016 – Round two of the Baku Olympiad already saw a number of stiff matches with far more balanced opposition. Still, although there were some close calls in the Open section, with isolated upsets, the favorites still held all the way down to table 29 where the teenage Iranian team managed to hold the much higher rated Georgian team to 2-2. In the Women’s section however, the Filipinos pulled off a huge upset by actually defeating the 4th seed Georgian team, who outrated them by almost 350 Elo. Illustrated report with GM analysis.